Anoka‑Hennepin leaders report upgrades to locks, communications and emergency response; emphasize partnerships

Anoka‑Hennepin Public School District operations and safety leaders told the school board on Aug. 11 they have made districtwide investments in locking systems, communications and emergency-planning practices intended to reduce response time and improve reunification after incidents.

The update, delivered by Chief Operations Officer Greg Cole with presentations from Tim Fournier, manager of security and emergency operations, Ben Martinson, director of buildings and grounds, and BJ Eisen, director of transportation, summarized infrastructure work, training, drills and law-enforcement partnerships that the district says support student and staff safety.

Board members were given a progress report on a multi‑phase project to standardize exterior door monitoring and electronic locking. "We've been in the home stretch here," Ben Martinson said, noting 33 of 48 sites are complete and River Trail will finish this week to close bid pack 4, with phase 5 underway and most remaining sites due by November. Martinson added the district must coordinate closely with technology staff to assess cybersecurity risks when a new platform interfaces with the district network.

The district described a phased approach to communications that includes radio and phone systems and a planned mobile application to improve real-time notification of staff who are traveling between sites. "Sometimes we have traveling teachers ... we need ways to communicate with people who might not physically be at a site," Martinson said.

Tim Fournier detailed how the district distinguishes incident types and deploys "wraparound" supports that include student services and mental‑health professionals as well as law enforcement. "On the front end ... assistant principals sort of [assess]," Fournier said. "But once they feel like they're in a position where they need to be getting deeper into an area where a student needs very specific types of supports, they're gonna be handing that off to somebody that has that expertise."

The presentation reviewed mandated drills: five lockout/lockdown drills, five fire drills and one weather drill each year, plus optional tabletop exercises. Fournier said the district encourages occasional drills during high‑traffic times such as passing periods or lunch to better reflect real conditions.

Transportation staff and Eisen described communication and logistics challenges posed by rapidly changing weather, noting a recent tornado watch that became a warning during high school release created a complex situation because sirens sounded in some areas and not others while buses and shuttles were in transit. "It becomes a very quick and intensive communication log jam that has to be sorted out," Eisen said, describing coordination with private contractors, neighboring districts and the National Weather Service.

The operations team also reviewed other incident classes — power outages, water infiltration, frozen water mains and community law‑enforcement events that happen near schools — and described how they respond and debrief to update protocols. "At the end of an incident, go back and look at what worked, what didn't work," Fournier said. "Post incident support is a very important thing."

Board members asked how the district will keep the board and public apprised of future needs as technology and threats evolve. Greg Cole and other staff offered to bring a midyear package of recommended investments and a short list of priorities the board could review for budget or timing consideration.

Members also pressed for clarity on drills and instruction for staff. Fournier said the district adheres to state guidance limiting live‑actor intruder drills without extensive advance preparation, notification and opt‑out options for families.

Several board members praised the operations team and asked the district to make direct instruction and coaching around drills and response an explicit part of staff training. Superintendent Mike McIntyre told the board the district will work to align direct instruction expectations with coaching and evaluation so the emphasis on foundational instruction is clear across content areas.

The board did not take any formal action on new policies during the update; the presentation was provided for information and questions. The district asked members to expect follow‑up materials and recommended priority lists in coming months.